Staff Pick

Touted as an adult's version of Harry Potter, The Night Circus actually lives up to its hype. It's the story of a couple of magicians, a circus, and a duel. And, of course, it's so much more. Morgenstern's creation is astounding and intricate, delicate and beautiful, frightening and overwhelming. Though torn between the contrary desires of racing through this perfectly paced tale or savoring every complex and unique sentence, I was hooked from the beginning. Not much of a fantasy fan? Me, neither. Read this book anyway.Recommended by Dianah, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway — a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love — a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Review:

"Debut author Morgenstern doesn't miss a beat in this smashing tale of greed, fate, and love set in a turn-of-the-20th-century circus. Celia is a five-year-old with untrained psychokinetic powers when she is unceremoniously dumped on her unsuspecting father, Hector Bowen, better known as Le Cirque des Reves' Prospero the Entertainer. Hector immediately hatches a sinister scheme for Celia: pit her against a rival's young magician in an epic battle of magic that will, by design, result in the death of one of the players, though neither Celia nor her adversary, Marco, is informed of the inevitable outcome. What neither Hector nor his rival count on is that Celia and Marco will eventually fall in love. Their mentors — Marco's mentor, Alexander, plucked him from the London streets due to his psychic abilities — attempt to intervene with little success as Celia and Marco barrel toward an unexpected and oddly fitting conclusion. Supporting characters — such as Bailey, a farm boy who befriends a set of twins born into the circus who will drastically influence his future; Isobel, a circus employee and onetime girlfriend of Marco's; and theatrical producer Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre — are perfectly realized and live easily in a giant, magical story destined for bestsellerdom. This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review:

"The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book." Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

Review:

"Self-assured, entertaining debut that blends genres and crosses continents in quest of magic....Generous in its vision and fun to read. Likely to be a big book — and, soon, a big movie, with all the franchise trimmings." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Review:

"To enter the black-and-white-striped tents of Le Cirque des Rêve is to enter a world where objects really do turn into birds and people really do disappear....Debut novelist Morgenstern has written a 19th-century flight of fancy that is, nevertheless, completely believable. The smells, textures, sounds, and sights are almost palpable. A literary Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, this read is completely magical." Library Journal (Starred Review)

Review:

"This big and compelling first novel ushers in a menacing tone with its first sentence: 'The circus arrives without warning'....With appeal for readers not particularly geared to fantasy but who plainly enjoy an unusual and well-drawn story, this one will make a good crossover suggestion." Booklist (Starred Review)

Review:

"A riveting debut. The Night Circus pulls you into a world as dark as it is dazzling, fully realized but still something out of a dream. You will not want to leave it." Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife

Review:

"The Night Circus is a gorgeously imagined fable poised in the high latitudes of Hans Christian Anderson and Oscar Wilde, with a few degrees toward Hesse's Steppenwolf for dangerous spice. The tale is masterfully written and invites allegorical interpretations even as its leisurely but persistent suspense gives it compelling charm. An enchanting read." Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love

Synopsis:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating based on 131 comments:

Sean Ealy, October 22, 2014 (view all comments by Sean Ealy)
What a splendid story Morgenstern weaves in The Night Circus! I truly feel I was late coming to the party, but once I picked up this book I was never disappointed. Full of magic and rich, descriptive prose, I found her writing style so clean and refreshing and the story captivating in a way that transcended the world around me the whole time I was lost within the pages. Exactly what I was looking for.

fyorarules, October 20, 2014 (view all comments by fyorarules)
Night Circus was very nearly poetry in novel form. The story and the style of story telling were so beautiful and compelling that I couldn't even function properly when I took break from reading for eating and sleeping. Songs are poems set to music, but this book seemed like the opposite: beautiful music in the form of stationary words without any connecting tune, but somehow still containing a connecting thread underneath the entire novel. I loved reading and definitely want to buy a copy and reread it whenever I need a boost of beauty and happiness in my life. As a dedicated bookworm, I have read many books, but this was one that made a huge impact through its beautiful prose and story.
The timeline of the story was a bit confusing and chaotic, but referring to the chapter titles helps keep the events of the book in order in your head.

Samantha Smith, October 18, 2014 (view all comments by Samantha Smith)
Eric Morgenstern's writing sweeps you up until you are lost among the pages and can't find your way out. It is terribly hard to drag yourself away from this story of love, magic, and dreams, but once you do, you have lost your sense of reality and have a hard time remembering if the book was real or not. Reading this book is a true adventure that you never want to leave.

Touted as an adult's version of Harry Potter, The Night Circus actually lives up to its hype. It's the story of a couple of magicians, a circus, and a duel. And, of course, it's so much more. Morgenstern's creation is astounding and intricate, delicate and beautiful, frightening and overwhelming. Though torn between the contrary desires of racing through this perfectly paced tale or savoring every complex and unique sentence, I was hooked from the beginning. Not much of a fantasy fan? Me, neither. Read this book anyway.

by Dianah

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Debut author Morgenstern doesn't miss a beat in this smashing tale of greed, fate, and love set in a turn-of-the-20th-century circus. Celia is a five-year-old with untrained psychokinetic powers when she is unceremoniously dumped on her unsuspecting father, Hector Bowen, better known as Le Cirque des Reves' Prospero the Entertainer. Hector immediately hatches a sinister scheme for Celia: pit her against a rival's young magician in an epic battle of magic that will, by design, result in the death of one of the players, though neither Celia nor her adversary, Marco, is informed of the inevitable outcome. What neither Hector nor his rival count on is that Celia and Marco will eventually fall in love. Their mentors — Marco's mentor, Alexander, plucked him from the London streets due to his psychic abilities — attempt to intervene with little success as Celia and Marco barrel toward an unexpected and oddly fitting conclusion. Supporting characters — such as Bailey, a farm boy who befriends a set of twins born into the circus who will drastically influence his future; Isobel, a circus employee and onetime girlfriend of Marco's; and theatrical producer Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre — are perfectly realized and live easily in a giant, magical story destined for bestsellerdom. This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Review"
by Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife,
"The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book."

"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review),
"Self-assured, entertaining debut that blends genres and crosses continents in quest of magic....Generous in its vision and fun to read. Likely to be a big book — and, soon, a big movie, with all the franchise trimmings."

"Review"
by Library Journal (Starred Review),
"To enter the black-and-white-striped tents of Le Cirque des Rêve is to enter a world where objects really do turn into birds and people really do disappear....Debut novelist Morgenstern has written a 19th-century flight of fancy that is, nevertheless, completely believable. The smells, textures, sounds, and sights are almost palpable. A literary Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, this read is completely magical."

"Review"
by Booklist (Starred Review),
"This big and compelling first novel ushers in a menacing tone with its first sentence: 'The circus arrives without warning'....With appeal for readers not particularly geared to fantasy but who plainly enjoy an unusual and well-drawn story, this one will make a good crossover suggestion."

"Review"
by Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife,
"A riveting debut. The Night Circus pulls you into a world as dark as it is dazzling, fully realized but still something out of a dream. You will not want to leave it."

"Review"
by Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love,
"The Night Circus is a gorgeously imagined fable poised in the high latitudes of Hans Christian Anderson and Oscar Wilde, with a few degrees toward Hesse's Steppenwolf for dangerous spice. The tale is masterfully written and invites allegorical interpretations even as its leisurely but persistent suspense gives it compelling charm. An enchanting read."

"Synopsis"
by Random,
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

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